COFFEE

In preparing our range of coffees we have selected only the cream of the crop from each country. They are chosen for their quality and unique characteristics, which are linked directly to their growing conditions and equally importantly the way they are farmed.
Special thanks should go to these farmers whose artistry in their field has enabled us to enjoy these true coffee delights. Like their wine producing counterparts, creating the equivalent of a 'Grand Cru' is a painstaking achievement of which they are justifiably proud, especially in a market where general standards of quality are declining due to unsustainable low prices.
We roast all our coffee in the shop in our small batch roaster, so we can give careful attention to each varieties' optimum roast. This enables us to bring out the unique characteristics that our coffees are prized for. It also means you get to try them truly fresh.
We offer the following flavour notes as a guide but the best way to find out what they are like is to try them! We feel the best way to appreciate most of our coffees is in a cafetiere or filter but we have also stated those coffees suitable for making espresso or cappuccino.
We sell as little as 100g, which can be ground to suit your requirements. For fresher coffee still, invest in a good grinder, this makes even more difference. As always for any further advice or to order please ring us on 01522 560008. Have fun!

No collection of coffee would be complete without a prizewinning offering from Kenya. It delivers value for money for the aroma alone! Given a dark roast, expect the flavours to suggest treacle toffee, molasses, black cherry, caramel, red wine, plum, dark chocolate, muscovado sugar and dried apricot. Our Kenya coffee is grown by the smallholder farmers of the Bisembe co-operative in Kisii County, a mountainous region of western Kenya famed for evergreen farms. Recently, coffee from this co-operative won the Specialty Coffee Association’s Blind Cupping Competition, scoring 98 out of 100. Learn More

This coffee bean at a dark roast is full bodied, with a brisk sweet flavour and exquisite bittersweet fruity aroma. Notes of treacle toffee, chocolate orange, caramel, raw cocoa, dried fruits, plum and molasses make it one of the world’s great dark roast coffees. The blend of coffee bean varietals, including Bourbon, helps create this very complex flavour profile. It is sourced from the Majinja Farmer Group, which is currently made up of 20 farmers in the Ibembwe, Msia, Mbozi and Songwe regions. Learn More

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffees are famed for their beautiful fragrance. When darkly roasted of course some of these complexities are lost yet it still retains its distinctive character. The citrus acidity changes to a dark fruit sweetness, hints of blackcurrant, spice, nutmeg, bonfire toffee and a sugar cane aftertaste make it one of the most refined of darkly roasted coffees. The coffee grown in this lush, green, mountainous area at altitudes up to 8,000 feet is referred to as ‘garden coffee’ due to most of it being grown on small-holdings of less than 1 hectare producing something up to 5 sacks of coffee beans. Learn More

This intense coffee is sourced from the Arinagata Cooperative, a collection serving 2,000+ small hold farmers who grow coffee in the Aceh rainforest at altitudes up to 5,500 feet. The co-op is an organic and Fairtrade certified Gayo Arabica coffee producer and exporter. When roasted as darkly as this the flavours described as herbal, grapefruit, cherry, chocolate, walnut, white grape, vanilla and fresh flowers evolve into cedar, maple, chocolate, spice, raisin, black treacle, liquorice and sweet tobacco. It has a syrupy richness, exquisite flavour and the native volcanic soil gives it a rich, silky character. It is, deservedly, among the most famous coffees in the world. Learn More

The famed ‘monsooned Malabar’ - is made by a process unique to India, and gives a distinctive, potent cup. It dates back to coffee farming under British colonial rule when during the several months that it took to ship green coffee from India to Europe, the humidity and sea winds caused the beans to swell and age. As transport improved the beans suffered less from the elements en route, so coffee-drinkers noticed that the coffee was losing its usual character and distinctive, bold flavour. To create a ‘monsooned’ crop, natural sun-dried green coffee is stored in open-sided warehouses on the coast, which allows moist tropical air from the monsoon winds to blow through the storage area. Over 2 to 3 months, the beans absorb moisture, lose most of their natural acidity and swell to around double their original size, becoming brittle and pale. The process starts when the monsoons begin. Tasting notes include spicy, earthy, smoky, tobacco, fig and plum. It is grown in Karnataka, the Western Ghats of South India. It is grown on the Kents, S.795, Catimor and Selection 9 varietals of Arabica coffee plant. Learn More

Every company protects the recipe for their own special blend of beans believing it to be the perfect combination to make the ultimate ‘Espresso’ coffee. We are no different! This blend was created by us in 1996 when the received wisdom was that blends should be made only of coffee beans from Brazil and perhaps some ‘Robusta’. We started to experiment with some of the phenomenal Grand Cru coffees we were roasting, and enjoying in cafétieres and filter equipment, in an espresso machine. After much experimentation, we settled on what we still believe holds up as a truly Grand Cru espresso, and we named it Nero. We love the sweet body, blackberry, chocolate, walnut, black treacle and hazelnut character of this speciality. It is the go-to blend for our customers and Baristas alike when making an espresso. It's also delicious made in any other form of equipment! Learn More

This coffee is grown in the Escambray Mountains where the soil is rich in quartz and mica crystals, hence the name. Characteristics noted include: Intensely aromatic, elegant, delicately sweet, creamy, notes of walnuts and caramel, cacao, sweet tobacco, cedar wood, brown sugar, leaving a cocoa butter coating in the mouth. The unique terroir, mild climate and frequent rains, form an ideal microclimate for growing this rare and outstanding coffee. The varieties planted are Typica, Bourbon, Villalobos and Isla 6-14. It is a wet-processed coffee, like many of the finest coffees from the Americas. Artisan roasted in our 2kg micro-coffee roaster. Learn More

This coffee is produced from bushes transplanted from the famous Blue Mountains of Jamaica. As such it is a very refined, smooth coffee with complex aromatics that include cedar, ginger, spice, nutmeg and chocolate. It is more full-bodied than its prestigious cousin and offers up a very syrupy quality in the cup. The mountainous, moist cultivation area has loamy soil and a variety of native shade trees. Korofeigu Farmer's Cooperative Society is located in the Bena Bena valley of the Eastern Highlands between Goroka to the west and Henganofi to the east. The Coop is comprised of 97 members (some of whom are seen above near a nursery), with a total cultivation area of 112 hectares. Learn More

This complex coffee is sourced from the Arinagata Cooperative, a collection serving 2,000+ small hold farmers who grow coffee in the Aceh rainforest at altitudes up to 5,500 feet. The co-op is an organic and Fairtrade certified Gayo Arabica coffee producer and exporter. The flavours in the cup are herbal, grapefruit, cherry, chocolate, walnut, white grape, vanilla, apricot and spice. It has a syrupy richness, exquisite flavour and the native volcanic soil gives it a rich, silky character. It is, deservedly, among the most famous coffees in the world. The Gayo 1 coffee varietal is unique to Indonesia. Learn More